Senator David Gowan Contact information

David M. Gowan Sr. is an American politician who has been serving in the Arizona Senate since January 14, 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Before his current tenure in the Senate, Gowan served as Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives for the 2015–2017 legislative session. He was also a Representative for Legislative District 14 from January 14, 2013, to January 9, 2017.

Gowan’s political career began when he was first elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2008. He represented Legislative District 30, which encompassed a large part of Southern Arizona, primarily Santa Cruz County. Between 2009–2010, he served as Vice Chair of the Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee. In 2010, he sponsored and introduced the House version of Arizona SB 1070.

In 2013, Gowan was elected Majority Leader of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives. In 2015, he was elected to serve as Speaker of the House. On October 5, 2015, Gowan announced his candidacy for Arizona’s 1st congressional district, but withdrew before the Republican primary.

Before entering politics, Gowan was a magazine distributor and karate instructor. He made three unsuccessful bids for elected office before gaining election to the state Legislature.

Gowan has faced several controversies during his political career. He was one of a number of Republican lawmakers who sued Governor Jan Brewer in an attempt to block the state’s acceptance of Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Arizona Supreme Court ultimately rejected the suit in 2017. Gowan also maneuvered to oust fellow Republican Bob Robson from the chairmanship of the powerful Rules Committee due to Robson’s support for Medicaid expansion.

Despite these controversies, Gowan has had a successful political career. He was reelected to the Arizona State Senate in 2022 and currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.